Introducing INEA: Innovation and Networks Executive Agency

Creation date: January 8, 2014

The European Commission has announced that the new Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA) will officially begin its operations on 1 January in order to manage several of its major funding programmes. INEA is the successor of the TEN-T EA (Trans-European Transport Network Executive Agency, which was created by the European Commission in 2006 to manage the technical and financial implementation of its TEN-T Programme.

What is an Executive Agency?

Executive Agencies of the European Commission turns EU policy into action by overseeing programme implementation. This means they follow EU co-funded projects throughout their lifecycle, providing valuable feedback to the Commission in the process. This is in addition to giving a wide variety of support to the programme beneficiaries and ensuring good visibility on the added-value of EU funding.

What is INEA's role?

INEA will manage parts of the new Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) and Horizon2020 programme. The CEF is a key EU financial instrument to promote growth, jobs and competitiveness through targeted infrastructure investment at European level. It is divided into three main areas:

• CEF Transport

• CEF Energy

• CEF Digital

It will also manage two parts of Horizon 2020, the EU's main financial instrument for the research area. The Smart green and integrated transport and Secure, clean and efficient energy are part of H2020's "Better Society" objective tackling societal challenges shared by all Europeans.

In total, it is expected that the Agency will manage a budget of up to €37 billion for the new Programmes (€30 billion from the CEF and €7 billion from H2020).

Last but not least, INEA will continue to manage the remaining 2007-2013 TEN-T Programme projects, as well as the remaining projects from the Marco Polo Programme (freight logistics), which it takes over from the Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation.

INEA, based in Brussels, has a current staff of 105 which will increase as it takes on its new responsibilities.